California’s climate disclosures affect public & private entities

Participants of the free live webinar will be eligible for 1 CPE credit.

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In September 2023, the California legislature passed two bills – SB 253 and SB 261 – that mandate both greenhouse gas emission and climate risk disclosure for public and private companies doing business in California starting in 2026. SB 253 and SB 261 are the most recent in a line of climate-related disclosure mandates. Governing bodies and regulators are motivated to ensure that corporate climate-related data is publicly accessible and useful for a wide array of stakeholders, including investors.

It is critical for companies today to understand what and when they will need to disclose on climate to maintain compliance in their relevant jurisdictions and avoid financial and reputational risk. While these disclosures can seem daunting, there are synergies across the climate reporting regulations that, if understood well, can help companies reduce compliance and reporting costs. The California bills’ requirements for disclosure use the GHG Protocol and the TCFD recommendations, similar to the proposed Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) climate-related disclosures proposal, the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), and IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards.

Members of Grant Thornton’s ESG & Sustainability team and sustainability leaders within the corporate world will discuss how to navigate climate reporting requirements to help you be prepared for evolving regulations like those in California, the EU, and the US with the proposed SEC rule on climate-related disclosures.

Date and time
Tuesday, November 14, 2023 2:00 PM ET – 3:00 PM ET

Recommended CPE credits
1

Learning objectives
Define key climate reporting components
Summarize applicability criteria to US entities for major climate reporting regulations: California, SEC and CSRD
Analyze next steps for companies to prepare for these regulations